Public Reports & Articles
ADEON: Atlantic Deepwater Ecosystem Observatory Network
2018-2020 — Outer Continental Shelf, United States
Client: University of New Hampshire
2020:
• Project Dictionary: Terminology Standard
• Data Processing Specification
2018:
• Underwater Soundscape and Modeling Metadata Standard
• Calibration and Deployment Good Practice Guide
• Hardware Specification
A 3-year collaboration with UNH on an observatory network that generated multi-year, multi-sensor measurements of the ecology and soundscape of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). Long-term observations of living marine resources and marine sound will assist federal agencies (BOEM, ONR, NOAA, etc.), in complying with mandates in the Endangered Species Act (ESA), Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), and Sustainable Fisheries Act (SFA). Outputs include standardized tools for comparing soundscapes across regions and predictive models for the soundscape and overall ecology of the southeast OCS.
ECHO Program | Voluntary Vessel Slowdown Trials
2017-2020 — British Columbia, Canada
Client: Port of Vancouver
2020: Appendix A – Hydroacoustic Studies (with SMRU Consulting)
2019:
• Appendix B – Hydroacoustic Studies
• Appendix C.2 – Land-Based Cetacean Observations
2018: Appendix B – Vessel Noise Modelling
2017:
• Appendix A – Vessel Noise Measurements
• Appendix D – Vessel Noise Modelling
Measurement and modelling studies for Vancouver Fraser Port Authority for their Enhancing Cetacean Habitat and Observation (ECHO) Program’s slowdown trials that investigate to what extent limiting vessel speeds decreases noise in Southern Resident Killer Whale habitat.
Turbine Audibility Assessment and How Sound Travels in High-Energy Environments
November 2020 — Nova Scotia, Canada
Client: Offshore Energy Research Association of NS
A monitoring and analysis program to advance our ability to perform and interpret passive acoustic monitoring for Environmental Effects Monitoring Plans (EEMPs) for marine tidal turbines. This study answers fundamental research questions that are not addressed by project specific EEMPs, including acoustic propagation effects and turbine audibility in environments with high tidal currents. Monitoring spanned a full 28-day tidal cycle and included an acoustic projector to study high-frequency propagation loss.
A collaboration with Dalhousie University.
Hearing in the Dark
November 2020
In: ECO Magazine, Deep Sea special issue
“Life in the depths is adapted to wholly different conditions than exist near the surface, with increasingly high static pressure and decreasing or no light. Here, animals create their own light through bioluminescence. What of their hearing abilities? To understand how deep-sea animals perceive their environment, a group of Australian experts joined an international research expedition in the Indian Ocean. The question was whether deep-sea fish have a keener sense of hearing compared to their shallow-water counterparts.”
Contributed by JASCO’s Roberto Racca and Klaus Lucke.
Johan Castberg Passive Acoustic Monitoring: Marine Mammal Acoustic Occurrence and Soundscape Analysis
September 2020 — Norway
Client: Equinor ASA
An analysis of underwater acoustic data measured at the Johan Castberg oil field in the southern Barents Sea at three locations from October 2018 until June 2019 to assess the presence of marine mammals and characterize the underwater soundscape. Five marine mammal species were detected during the study: fin, humpback, killer, sperm whales and a dolphin species whose signals were tentatively attributed to white-beaked dolphins. Because of the limited human activity recorded in the study area, the results provide a good baseline against which to assess the occurrence of marine mammals in the study area in the future.
Listening to the Chukchi Sea
September 2020
In: ECO Magazine, Polar special issue
“From 2006 to 2015, several oil and gas companies performed exploratory campaigns … in the northeastern Chukchi Sea. Some of these companies funded multidisciplinary long-term environmental projects to collect ecological baseline measurements and inform regulatory permit applications. The Chukchi Sea Environmental Studies Program (CSESP), the largest of these multi-year studies, included a large passive acoustic monitoring component. Led by JASCO Applied Sciences, the acoustic element of the program enabled scientists to describe how vocal marine mammals use the northeastern Chukchi Sea throughout the seasons, and to characterize the natural and human-made soundscape of the area.”
Contributed by JASCO’s Roberto Racca and David Hannay.
Bay du Nord Development Project Environmental Impact Assessment
July 2020 — Newfoundland, Canada
Client: Equinor Canada
Modelling and analysis studies for Equinor as part of their EIA for the proposed Bay du Nord Development Project, a floating offshore oil and gas production facility, 500 km east of Newfoundland. Modelled sources include an airgun array for seismic surveys, sub-bottom profiler and multibeam sonar for geohazard surveys, drillship, and the floating production, storage, and offloading facility. The analysis of four summers of acoustic recordings characterized the baseline soundscape, the presence of marine mammals, and the effects on the soundscape of Equinor’s 2014–2016 drilling program.
A Quiet Day on the Reef
June 2020
In: ECO Magazine, Coral Reefs special issue
“The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the near shut-down of international tourism and the imposition of port closures and transit restrictions, significantly decreasing the volume of global ocean-going vessel traffic. A 2017 Caribbean coral reef acoustic monitoring study that serendipitously coincided with Tropical Storm Franklin could provide some early insight on the quieter soundscape that coral reef inhabitants are currently experiencing.”
Contributed by JASCO’s Cynthia Pyć, Klaus Lucke, and Roberto Racca.
Learmonth Pipeline Bundle Fabrication Facility: Assessment of Marine Fauna Underwater Sound Exposures
February 2020 — Western Australia
Client: MBS Environmental
A modelling study of underwater sound levels associated with the Subsea 7 Learmonth Pipeline Fabrication Facility, specifically vessel noise associated with launching and towing pipeline bundles for the offshore oil and gas industry. The study assessed distances from operations where underwater sound levels reached thresholds corresponding to various levels of potential impact to marine fauna including marine mammals, turtles, and fish (including fish eggs and larvae).
A Parametric Analysis and Sensitivity Study of the Acoustic Propagation for Renewable Energy
February 2020 — Atlantic Coast, United States
Client: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM)
February 2020 — Atlantic Coast, United States
Client: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM)
A modelling and analysis study to facilitate improved risk prediction of underwater noise impacts of offshore wind development involving pile driving. It recommends the most efficient acoustic models and ranks the most influential environmental parameters at two representative sites off the United States Atlantic Coast. Co-authored by Michael Ainslie.